On larger pleasure craft, use is generally made of ladders which, as a rule, are premanently screwed in place at the stern of the vessel and may most often be pivoted downwardly so that a part of the ladder is immersed in the water. Ladders of this type are often mounted on the vessel by making holes through the hull and thereafter screwing the ladder in place. This entails that a certain amount of damage is done to the hull in such a manner that replacement or removal of the ladder would involve troublesome repairs, often repainting of the entire vessel.
In such situations when a large pleasure craft is run or sailed into shallow water so as to enable the occupants to make land by wading ashore, the boat is, as a rule, run or sailed stem-first in, since the stem often has the least draught. The reason for this is that there are often propellers, keel, rudder and similar details beneath the stern of the vessel, details which are either relatively fragile or extend quite some distance beneath the bottom of the vessel. Since the ladders which are in general use today are, as a rule, placed at the stern of the vessel, this would entail that the water is quite deep and, as a result, does not offer an attractive prospect for making land by this means.
A vessel which has been run or sailed in towards a beach in the above-described manner often enjoys relatively shallow water at the stem, for which reason a ready means of making land is available from the stem of the craft. However, serious problems from a purely practical point of view arise here, since the stem is so high that a person standing on the sea bottom can hardly get into the craft without assistance, even though the water may, at this point, be as little as kneedeep.
To facilitate entering and leaving the vessel, use has earlier been made in the art of different types of loose aids, such as steps, ladders and the like which, on occasions, have been placed on the sea bottom and, on occasions, have been suspended freely from the stem of the boat, and, on other occasions, have been leant against the side of the boat as a conventional ladder. All of these loose aids involve practical drawbacks, not least because there is normally little space on board for storing loose articles and details.
It might, in itself, be conceivable to permanently screw in place, at or adjacent the stem of the boat, different types of ladders or the like, but, as has been mentioned above, such an operation often entails far-reaching interference with the hull so that replacement or dismantling of the ladder would cause serious damage and possibly the necessity of repainting the entire vessel.
Prior art shipping ladders and other aids for stepping into or out of boats have also suffered from serious drawbacks in that they must be specially designed for each individual craft. As a result, one and the same ladder can hardly be used for different vessel types or boat models, since the slope, height etc. of the hull may vary widely.